Stephen Jeavons

So you lot are all paying VAT?

That flow diagram confirms that even though our boat is our permanent residence, we are not tax exempt as the boat is designed for recreation/pleasure (or is it? we've redesigned it as our residence although it can still be used for leisure etc). Seems a grey area to me. Thanks for the diagram Alan

On a related topic. Do you Marina types pay VAT on your mooring charge? Reason I ask is because our moorings are owned by the Council and we are charged VAT. When this was queried, they reckoned that we aren't renting the mooring (like a Council tenant who doesn't pay VAT on rent) but are paying a licence fee to use the mooring so VAT is added. Bit of a swindle if you ask me but there it is. How about you guys?

We pay Band A Council Tax on our Res Mooring. However, we do have a full street address, post code and letter-box so the Council treat us like any other house. I don't see how you could be invoiced for Council Tax without a bona fide postal address ?

Well CO should only be prevalent if you have poor ventilation so an open fire just like your gas cooker is safe so long as the space has sufficient ventilation. The same applies to any house stove or fire. There are strict regulations about such things. As for the olden days, the houses were so drafty, they likely had sufficient ventilation so they got away with it. In a modern house with tight windows and doors good ventilation is a must

Precisely, I mean of course the LED bulb used generated the heat. Obviously the resistors within the bulb structure were to blame rather than the LED chips themselves. Nonetheless, in this application in a closed, confined space with a metal reflector above they didn't work for me. There may well be other smaller more suitable LED bulbs out there.

I have exactly the same units in my back-cabin. I converted them to centre contact fittings (bought from Vehicle Wiring Products). You will need to ground the frame of course. I bought some LED bulbs but the ones I got had an array of LEDs all around the central part of the bulb. I found that the LED's generated too much heat and with the reflector in these fittings, actually blew the LED bulb (it literally disintegrated from the heat). I reverted to a centre contact 5W car type bulb and have had no problems. I don't think the design of this fitting lends itself to LED bulbs Stephen

Thanks for the info. Seems they only do stainless which i'm not keen on. We're in Ricky on the GU so nowhere near unfortunately otherwise I'd give them a shout anyway. I need the pipe to take approximately a 12 degree (off vertical) path twixt top of stove and roof collar spigot. Should be straightforward.

Mine's only partially installed. Must buy the missing flu bits. Hmm, where to get them?

This is all possible on future boats but not viable for many existing boats. My engine stop is a mechanical process (pull a handle to kill the motor). No Morse on Consort either. My throttle is a trad-style brass wheel and Forward/Reverse a Pull Handle. You wouldn't attempt fitting auto stop/start to a vintage car would you? Future boats along with cars will all be Hybrid or electric anyway

Damn right!. Have you ever tried to steer your moving boat when in neutral? You have zero control without water being pushed or pulled past the rudder.

I do tend to use forward/reverse to maintain position when in locks as there isn't too much space between gates and the boat and likewise the cill at the rear (The boat is just under 71ft). So I prefer to have the motor running. Petrified of "hanging -up". It happens all too often.

All this complication? My Mercedes OM601 has a bowden cable which mechanically pulls the shut-off lever on the injector from a Tee-bar like an old-school bonnet catch. Simply pull it and she dies. Push back in to go again. No electrics needed ? No doubt the van the engine came from had electric gizmos but the engine installer on the boat decided to make life simple. (The rest of it is a dog's breakfast but we won't talk about that)

Ditto for WD40. Best stuff ever. Always, Always only ever use Frog Tape for masking

So where did they put your fuel tank? Ours is the entire floor surrounding the engine so headroom suffers (but not in my case as I'm only 5'5" ?)

Not strictly true. We completely refitted Consort and included a bath with shower over. We alternate using the shower and bath and along with running the washing machine twice a week only fill the tank every 7 or 8 days. Admittedly we are just two living aboard at the mo but have been 4 up till recently when we would fill the tank once a week. It's nice to have both bath and shower. Folks I know having only showers are envious. I guess we must have a large water tank. It's under the fore-deck so couldn't say how big it is. Trying to buy a boat from a distance is nigh on impossible. You need a local rep or get someone over here for a few weeks to trawl around. As has been said, stuff sells fast as there are plenty of cash buyers around.

Interesting thoughts and it is a worry for anyone like me considering an engine swap sometime in the future. Should diesel be outlawed, it does beg the question how we heat our boats as no doubt multi-fuel stoves will also be banned. We'll all have to make do with electric heaters and the immersion for hot water. Great when on shore-power but impossible if cruising

Tony, what are your thoughts on the push for lower emission (electric or hybrid)? Do you think that diesel powered days are numbered?

Sadly, I have a trad 71ft boat built by one of the best builders but the numpty who originally had the boat made chose to install a soulless Mercedes van engine. To top that, it's a rattly smokey lump and is an embarrassment. I dream of something more in keeping with the boat. Like others, I love my engine room. Our engine is offset to one side as we have hydraulic drive. This gives us a great space for an airing cupboard and fold-down ironing board (yes, some of us still iron). We can walk straight down the centre of the boat end-to-end. One day we'll swap the engine for a "proper"one.

Maybe 150mA. Tain't that much. What does your fan draw?

Half an Amp isn't much. Good plan to connect a relay and switch the fans through that then you can have as many fans as you like

Neither, it's coal fired

Don't be deceived into thinking the vendor is in the UK either. It says item location "London". That's just to make it more attractive to UK buyers. At that price it will come from China possibly via a devious route. I ordered something supposedly from Leicester last Friday due for delivery on Monday. It's now Wednesday and I'm getting courier emails from Germany. They lie to attract business. In all things, you get what you pay for. Try Vehicle Wiring Products (www.vehicleproducts.co.uk), they have a range.

I hear you, I just wasn't keen on the cylinder getting scorchingly hot and then reheating the engine once moored up. How do you stop that from happening?

This is the sort of thing I was thinking of controlled from say a domestic style cylinder-stat? https://www.solidrop.net/product/12v-motorised-ball-valve-brass-2-way-3-4-dn20-electric-shut-off-valve-3-wires-cr03-wiring-for-water-control.html Anyone done this or is there an easier way? Thoughts? Stephen